The Labor Party in Queensland looks set to pull off a stunning victory in a cliffhanger Queensland election, after securing an "extraordinary", double-digit swing.
The Liberal National Party was expecting its enormous majority could not be eroded to such an extent as to bring defeat, but it is now experiencing a major upset.
The upset has ended the political career of Premier Campbell Newman.
Labor is on track to claim 45 or 46 of the 89 seats in the state's parliament, after going into the poll holding only nine seats.
Labor Leader, Annastacia Palaszczuk. Photo: AAP
"My political career is over," Mr Newman told Liberal National Party supporters as he conceded defeat in his seat, the ABC reports.
The LNP has not conceded the overall result, but ABC analyst Antony Green has said projections suggest "there is a Labor government coming in Queensland" - at worst relying on one of three crossbenchers.
"You'd have to put the money on Labor forming government," Mr Green said.
A handful of seats were in doubt when counting was stopped at midnight.
Mr Newman spoke at LNP headquarters, conceding defeat in his electorate of Ashgrove and thanked his party colleagues.
"Over the last three years we've had to make some very important decisions for this state," Mr Newman said.
"They were necessary and I do truly believe that they have put Queensland in a far better place.
"We have put the state in a far better place than the way we found it."
However, Mr Newman stopped short of conceding defeat for his government.
"The LNP will offer either a strong and stable Government or a very effective Opposition."
Labor Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has so far achieved a 19 per cent swing in her Inala electorate, said that three years ago Labor did not believed it could come this close to victory.
"It's still too close to call at present, but I'm very hopeful that we will be able to form government in this state," she said.
"Can I thank the union movement," she said.
"Because it it is the union movement that stands up each and every day and fights for better conditions for workers across this state."
Ms Palaszczuk campaigned on a "no asset sale agenda" and said a Labor government would not offload the $37 billion worth of assets the LNP wanted to privatise.
"Let's put the past three years behind us," she said.
"Let's have a consensus government where we bring people together, where we listen and where he unite.
Kate Jones, Labor's candidate for the Queensland State seat of Ashgrove, greets voters outside a polling booth in Brisbane. Photo: AAP
Kate Jones comfortably won Mr Newman's seat of Ashgrove using a grassroots, low-key campaign.
Ms Jones spoke to supporters in Brisbane after defeating Campbell Newman in the key election seat of Ashgrove.
"When I was defeated in 2012, I retreated back into my community. I retreated back into my family who raised me here in Ashgrove, into my Ashgrove community," Ms Jones said.
For the first time in many years, I had the opportunity to step back and look on.
"What I saw happening over the last three years was that Queensland was going backwards.
Abbot says he will not resign after Queensland rout
Tony Abbott says he remains determined to continue as Prime Minister, in spite of reports the Queensland election result has doomed his leadership.
Some federal Coalition MPs have described the LNP's loss in Queensland as "catastrophic" for the party and potentially terminal for Mr Abbott's leadership.
Queensland MPs Jane Prentice and Warren Entsch have both said there now need to be "discussions" about the issue, but Tony Abbott said he would not resign.
"The people of Australia elected me as Prime Minister and they elected my government to get on with the job of governing our country," he told reporters in Sydney today.
"The important thing is not to navel-gaze, it's not to look at ourselves, it's to get on with the job of being a better Government."
Mr Abbott attributed the LNP's Queensland defeat to state issues, but did acknowledge that his decision to knight Prince Philip had hurt Campbell Newman's campaign.
"It was a distraction for a couple of days, I accept that and I very much regret that," Mr Abbott said.
A Galaxy poll published today in News Limited newspapers has Labor leading the Liberal-National Coalition 57 points to 43 on a two-party preferred basis.
Mr Abbott's personal approval rating is just 27 percent.
